Better check your horoscope – according to astronomers, your sign might not actually be your sign.
Scientific star-gazers say the 12 Zodiac signs we have come to memorize as handily as our own birthdays are actually out of date by a few thousand years.
In fact, there should actually be a 13th sign called Ophiuchus between Scorpio and Sagittarius, changing the dates of the other signs as well.
“Precession has shifted our view of the stars significantly over a few thousand years, so the sun is no longer situated in front of certain star groupings on the astrologically appointed dates,” Mary Lou Whitehorne, president of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada, as well as an astronomy educator and author, explained in an e-mail to QMI Agency.
Precession is the change in the orientation of Earth's axis over the years.
Because of this gradual shift, “things are 'off' by about one month, which is roughly the equivalent to one constellation (or sun sign) of the zodiac” since the times of ancient Greece, when these first signs were created, said Whitehorne.
That means the dates of signs are out of whack and many of us born Virgos could actually be Leos, many Aries are actually Pisces, and so on.
Others – born between Nov. 29-Dec. 17 – should actually be following the little known sign of Ophiuchus, the snake.
While astrologers are well aware of Ophiuchus, don't expect a change in your newspaper horoscopes anytime soon.
“This isn't news. This is nothing,” said Anne Massey, an astrologer and author based in Surrey, B.C.
She said astrological prognosticators have long known about the existence of Ophiuchus, and the shift of how we see stars over time, but that scientists are missing the point.
“This is symbolic – it follows a certain symmetric geometry. It's based on the seasons,” she said. “Astronomers don't observe the skies the same way astrologers do.”
According to a scientists, modern astrologers should be using these dates for the signs of the Zodiac.
Capricorn: Jan. 20 - Feb. 16
Aquarius: Feb. 16 - March 11
Pisces: March 11- April 18
Aries: April 18- May 13
Taurus: May 13- June 21
Gemini: June 21- July 20
Cancer: July 20- Aug. 10
Leo: Aug. 10- Sept. 16
Virgo: Sept. 16- Oct. 30
Libra: Oct. 30- Nov. 23
Scorpio: Nov. 23- Nov. 29
Ophiuchus: Nov. 29- Dec. 17
Sagittarius: Dec. 17- Jan. 20
